U.S. Rep. Justin Amash plans bill to halt Libyan attacks until Congress has a say

AP PhotoU.S. Air Force F-16 jet fighters are seen on the tarmac after landing as a C-17 plane takes off at the Aviano NATO airbase, in Aviano, Italy, Friday.

Grand Rapids-area Rep. Justin Amash, who has aggressively questioned President Obama’s authority to launch missile strikes on Libya without Congressional approval, said today he will introduce a bill requiring a halt in the action until Congress can weigh in.

Amash says the Constitution authorizes the President to act militarily only when the U.S. (including U.S. Armed Forces) are attacked or are in imminent danger of attack, or if Congress so authorizes force.

Some Congressional members on both sides of the aisle, including Amash, have argued that even though Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has used violence on innocent citizens protesting his regime, his actions do not constitute an imminent threat to the U.S.

“Without approval from Congress, and absent an imminent or actual threat to our nation, the president does not have the constitutional authority to take us to war,” said Amash in a statement.

He said his bill, called “The RECLAIM Act” will enforce the constitutional requirement that Congress approve of an offensive military operation. (RECLAIM stands for Restoring Essential Constitutional Constraints for Libyan Action Involving the Military Act.) Listen to interview with Amash.

Justin Amash

The Act would withdraw funding for military action against Libya unless the administration receives Congressional authorization, though Amash says the bill specifically recognizes the President’s inherent authority to defend the country against an attack or imminent danger of an attack.

The administration has defended the mission, saying that taking military action was necessary to prevent the deaths of civilians and that the timing allowed the U.S. to draw in international partners.

In a conference call with reporters that same day, a powerful Michigan lawmaker predicted failure for opponents of the attacks on Libya. Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said those seeking to halt the United Nations-authorized mission won’t come “anywhere near success” in gathering the votes necessary.

Levin called launching the missiles on Libya the “right course.

“We had political support from around the world,” he said.

But critics of the action include Levin’s colleagues, Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. James Webb, D-Virgnia, who asked for a “clear statement of foreign policy” to accompany the military action.